Juan M. Gandarias

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia | IIT · Human-Robot Interfaces and physical Interaction (HRII) Lab

This paper presents a mobile supernumerary robotic approach to physical assistance in human-robot conjoined actions. The study starts with the description of the SUPER-MAN concept. The idea is to develop and utilize mobile collaborative systems that can follow human loco-manipulation commands to perform industrial tasks through three main component...

Safety is one of the most fundamental aspects of robotics, especially when it comes to collaborative robots (cobots) that are expected to physically interact with humans. Although a large body of literature has focused on safety-related aspects for fixed-based cobots, a low effort has been put into developing collaborative mobile manipulators. In r...

Simulation tools are essential for robotics research, especially for those domains in which safety is crucial, such as Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC). However, it is challenging to simulate human behaviors, and existing robotics simulators do not integrate functional human models. This work presents Open-VICO~\footnote{\url{https://gitlab.iit.it/h...

This paper proposes a hybrid learning and optimization framework for mobile manipulators for complex and physically interactive tasks. The framework exploits the MOCA-MAN interface to obtain intuitive and simplified human demonstrations and Gaussian Mixture Model/Gaussian Mixture Regression to encode and generate the learned task requirements in te...

This letter presents the design and development of a robotic system to give physical assistance to the elderly or people with neurological disorders such as Ataxia or Parkinson's. In particular, we propose using a mobile collaborative robot with an interaction-assistive whole-body interface to help people unable to maintain balance. The robotic sys...

This document introduces the bridge between the leading inertial motion-capture systems for 3D human tracking and the most used robotics software framework. 3D kinematic data provided by Xsens are translated into ROS messages to make them usable by robots and a Unified Robotics Description Format (URDF) model of the human kinematics is generated, w...

Novel high-resolution pressure-sensor arrays allow treating pressure readings as standard images. Computer vision algorithms and methods such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) can be used to identify contact objects. In this paper, a high-resolution tactile sensor has been attached to a robotic end-effector to identify contacted objects. Two C...

Tracking 3D human motion in real-time is crucial for numerous applications across many fields. Traditional approaches involve attaching artificial fiducial objects or sensors to the body, limiting their usability and comfort-of-use and consequently narrowing their application fields. Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have allowed for...

Transporting large and heavy objects can benefit from Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC), increasing the contribution of robots to our daily tasks and reducing the risk of injuries to the human operator. This approach usually posits the human collaborator as the leader, while the robot has the follower role. Hence, it is essential for the leader to be...

This letter presents a novel interaction planning method that exploits impedance tuning techniques in response to environmental uncertainties and unpredictable conditions using haptic information only. The proposed algorithm plans the robot's trajectory based on the haptic interaction with the environment and adapts planning strategies as needed. T...

Using large datasets in machine learning has led to outstanding results, in some cases outperforming humans in tasks that were believed impossible for machines. However, achieving human-level performance when dealing with physically interactive tasks, e.g., in contact-rich robotic manipulation, is still a big challenge. It is well known that regula...

Balance and gait disorders are the second leading cause of falls, which, along with consequent injuries, are reported as major public health problems all over the world. For patients who do not require mechanical support, vibrotactile feedback interfaces have proven to be a successful approach in restoring balance. Most of the existing strategies a...

Recurrent or sustained awkward body postures are among the most frequently cited risk factors to the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). To prevent workers from adopting harmful configurations but also to guide them toward more ergonomic ones, wearable haptic devices may be the ideal solution. In this paper, a vibrotactile...

Safety is one of the most fundamental aspects of robotics, especially when it comes to collaborative robots (cobots) that are expected to physically interact with humans. Although a large body of literature has focused on safety-related aspects for fixed-based cobots, a low effort has been put into developing collaborative mobile manipulators. In r...

This letter proposes a hybrid learning and optimization framework for mobile manipulators for complex and physically interactive tasks. The framework exploits an admittance-type physical interface to obtain intuitive and simplified human demonstrations and Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM)/Gaussian Mixture Regression (GMR) to encode and generate the lea...

The objective of this paper is to develop and evaluate a directional vibrotactile feedback interface as a guidance tool for postural adjustments during work. In contrast to the existing active and wearable systems such as exoskeletons, we aim to create a lightweight and intuitive interface, capable of guiding its wearers towards more ergonomic and...

This paper presents a novel interaction planning method that exploits impedance tuning techniques in response to environmental uncertainties and unpredictable conditions using haptic information only. The proposed algorithm plans the robot's trajectory based on the haptic interaction with the environment and adapts planning strategies as needed. Tw...

The objective of this paper is to develop and evaluate a directional vibrotactile feedback interface as a guidance tool for postural adjustments during work. In contrast to the existing active and wearable systems such as exoskeletons, we aim to create a lightweight and intuitive interface, capable of guiding its wearers towards more ergonomic and...

This paper presents a user-centered physical interface for collaborative mobile manipulators in industrial manufacturing and logistics applications. The proposed work builds on our earlier MOCA-MAN interface, through which a mobile manipulator could be physically coupled to the operators to assist them in performing daily activities. The new interf...

Assistive and rehabilitation robotics have gained momentum over the past decade and are expected to progress significantly in the coming years. Although relevant and promising research advances have contributed to these fields, challenges regarding intentional physical contact with humans remain. Despite being a fundamental component of assistive a...

Recent advances in the field of intelligent robotic manipulation pursue providing robotic hands with touch sensitivity. Haptic perception encompasses the sensing modalities encountered in the sense of touch (e.g., tactile and kinesthetic sensations). This letter focuses on multimodal object recognition and proposes analytical and data-driven method...

In physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI), forces exerted by humans need to be estimated to accommodate robot commands to human constraints, preferences, and needs. This paper presents a method for the estimation of the interaction forces between a human and a robot using a gripper with proprioceptive sensing. Specifically, we measure forces exert...

The idea of intelligent robots, conceived as the merge of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) fields, has gained momentum over the last years. The dream of having robots living among us is coming true thanks to the recent advances in these areas. The gap that still exists between that dream and reality will be filled by scientific research, b...

Collaborative robots (cobots) open up new avenues in the fields of industrial robotics and physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI) as they are suitable to work in close approximation and in collaboration with humans. The integration and control of variable stiffness elements allow inherently safe interaction. Apart from notable work on Variable Sti...

In this paper, a method for the estimation of the angle of grasping of a human forearm, when grasped by a robot with an underactuated gripper, using proprioceptive information only, is presented. Knowing the angle around the forearm’s axis (i.e. roll angle) is key for the safe manipulation of the human limb and biomedical sensor placement among oth...

In this paper, a novel method of active tactile perception based on 3D neural networks and a high-resolution tactile sensor installed on a robot gripper is presented. A haptic exploratory procedure based on robotic palpation is performed to get pressure images at different grasping forces that provide information not only about the external shape o...

The emergence of new robotic technologies such as compliant control and soft robotics, has contributed to safe physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI) mainly for assistive applications. However, a robot capable of directly manipulating the human body, which is key for the implementation of autonomous rescue robots, has not been developed so far. In...

Dentro de los procedimientos de respuesta a emergencias, la Primera Intervención consiste en la toma de contacto con la zona de crisis mediante la recogida de información relevante que permita decidir y organizar la entrada de los equipos de rescate. Las labores de primera intervención constituyen una aplicación significativa de la robótica de resc...

Novel high-resolution pressure-sensor arrays allow treating pressure readings as standard images. Computer vision algorithms and methods such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) can be used to identify contact objects. In this paper, a high-resolution tactile sensor has been attached to a robotic endeffector to identify contacted objects. Two CN...

A new robotic system for Search And Rescue (SAR) operations based on the automatic wristband placement on the victims’ arm, which may provide identification, beaconing and remote sensor readings for continuous health monitoring. This paper focuses on the development of the automatic target localization and the device placement using an unmanned aer...

In this paper, the first device for monitoring casualties including automatic placement with aerial robotic manipulators is presented. The distributed system allows the continuous evaluation of the health status of victims in massive disaster scenarios. The design of the sensor and the communication system is described. The continuous monitoring sy...

The use of tactile perception can help first response robotic teams in disaster scenarios, where visibility conditions are often reduced due to the presence of dust, mud, or smoke, distinguishing human limbs from other objects with similar shapes. Here, the integration of the tactile sensor in adaptive grippers is evaluated, measuring the performan...

This paper presents the application of machine learning to tactile sensing for rescue robotics. Disaster situations often exhibit low-visibility scenarios where haptic feedback provides a valuable information for the search of potential victims. To extract haptic information from the environment, a tactile sensor attached to a lightweight robotic a...

This paper describes the use of two artificial intelligence methods for object recognition via pressure images from a high-resolution tactile sensor. Both meth- ods follow the same procedure of feature extraction and posterior classification based on a supervised Supported Vector Machine (SVM). The two approaches differ on how features are extracte...

Este artículo presenta el diseño de un efector final táctil y la aplicación de técnicas de inteligencia artificial para la detección de personas mediante un brazo manipulador ligero de 6 grados de libertad. Este efector está compuesto por un sensor táctil de alta resolución que permite obtener imágenes de presión. El sistema extrae información hápt...

En este artículo se presenta el modelo cinemático de un robot paralelo y la construcción de un prototipo de dos grados de libertad, cuyo objeto es servir como posicionador de instrumentos de cirugía laparoscópica. El robot tiene una configuración en paralelo, con estructura de mecanismo de cinco barras con ejes no paralelos, con dos articulaciones...

En este trabajo se presenta la experiencia de la utilización docente de un dispositivos háptico desarrollado como una nueva versión del Haptic Paddle , creado en la Universidad de Stanford a mediados de los 90. Se trata de un dispositivo educativo de bajo coste y simple que puede ser ensamblado y programado por los estudiantes, y que se usó para en...

En este artículo se presenta el uso de dispositivos de realimentación de fuerzas de un grado de libertad como herramienta para el desarrollo de aplicaciones docentes en asignaturas de teleoperación y telerrobótica, con el objetivo de disponer de una interfaz física que pueda ser utilizada como equipo de prácticas. Estos dispositivos, conocidos como...